{
  "id": 6867965,
  "title": "Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk acquitted in murder-for-hire trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/grammy-winning-rapper-lil-durk-acquitted-in-murder-for-hire-trial-6867965",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-12T04:23:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2026/09/12/grammy-winning-rapper-lil-durk-acquitted-in-murder-for-hire-trial"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk was declared innocent on Friday of all charges in a federal murder-for-hire trial, according to a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. The trial concluded following a four-year-old shooting in Los Angeles, where Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, was accused of orchestrating the murder of rapper Quando Rondo.\n\nTwo co-defendants, Deandre Dontrell Wilson and David Brian Lindsey, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking with a dangerous weapon, and stalking resulting in death. However, both Durk and the co-defendants were acquitted of murder-for-hire-related charges.\n\nThe incident, which occurred in August 2022, involved a fatal shooting at a gasoline station near the Beverly Center shopping mall in Los Angeles. Prosecutors alleged that Banks placed a bounty on the head of Rondo as revenge for the 2020 killing of a close friend, Dayvon \"King Von\" Bennett, by one of Rondo's associates in Atlanta.\n\nBanks, 33, who won the 2024 Grammy for best melodic rap performance, was arrested in October 2024 at a Florida airport, along with other suspects, including the co-defendants. His defense team maintained his innocence, claiming the plot was orchestrated by a former personal assistant who then testified against them.",
  "summary": "Durk Banks was accused of orchestrating the revenge killing of a man shot dead in a daytime ambush in Los Angeles four years ago.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 7,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Billboard",
        "title": "Lil Durk Acquitted of All Charges in Murder-for-Hire Trial Over Quando Rondo Attack",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/lil-durk-acquitted-of-all-charges-in-murder-for-hire-trial-over",
        "published": "2026-09-12T00:23:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Variety",
        "title": "Lil Durk Acquitted in Murder-for-Hire Trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/lil-durk-acquitted-in-murder-for-hire-trial",
        "published": "2026-09-12T00:48:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk acquitted in murder-for-hire trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/grammy-winning-rapper-lil-durk-acquitted-in-murder-for-hire-trial",
        "published": "2026-09-12T04:23:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "Grammy-winning US rapper Lil Durk acquitted in murder-for-hire trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/grammy-winning-us-rapper-lil-durk-acquitted-in-murder-for-hire-trial",
        "published": "2026-09-12T08:04:16.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "GBC Ghana",
        "title": "Grammy-winning US rapper Lil Durk acquitted in murder-for-hire trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/grammy-winning-us-rapper-lil-durk-acquitted-in-murder-for-hire-trial-6978041",
        "published": "2026-09-12T19:04:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "KahawaTungu",
        "title": "Grammy-winning US rapper Lil Durk acquitted in murder-for-hire trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/grammy-winning-us-rapper-lil-durk-acquitted-in-murder-for-hire-trial-6991240",
        "published": "2026-09-12T21:05:27.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}